I’m learning how to use my body, with the help of Amira, my Alexander teacher. The Alexander Technique has a number of techniques for reminding us that (a) we are usually working harder than we need to and (b) what we think we are doing is not always what we are actually doing. This latter aspect is known as “Faulty Sensory Awareness” because, although we may think we are standing up straight, any observer (or ourself looking in a mirror) can tell that we’re leaning one way or the other.
This became very clear to me last week as I was swimming laps. When kicking a length on my back, I tend to believe I’m looking straight up at the sky. Although I don’t really need my goggles in this position I usually have them on anyway – I can see the beautiful sky better. A side benefit of wearing the goggles is that, if I splash, I don’t get water in my eye. Last week I happened to be kicking on my back with my goggles off and noticed that my left eye was getting a bit of water in it, while my right eye was dry. Just to verify, I made sure that it happened in both directions down the lane – that it wasn’t due to my neighbor’s wake in the next lane. Nope. Unless the pool was tilted, it was me.
Although I thought my nose was pointed straight up, and it certainly felt “normal”, the water was telling me that I was ever so slightly tilted to the left!
So, if you’ve ever wondered about whether your body could work better than it does, give Amira (or any Alexander teacher) a try. As I always say: “She hasn’t killed me yet!”. (BTW: that is an inside joke with Amira – she wouldn’t allow that quote on her website so I had to come up with a different one)